Alabama

One-man jam band Keller Williams slated to perform Saturday

View full sizeSpecial to The TimesKeller Williams will perform at Crossroads Saturday beginning at 10 p.m.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - The one-man music band Keller Williams will be rolling into Huntsvegas – and not in his once-signature hybrid of a Chevrolet Blazer and Winnebago – to perform at Crossroads Saturday night.

Note that this performance, dubbed “An Evening with Keller Williams,” is a no-smoking show.

Go! magazine spoke to Williams while he was touring via train to ask him questions ranging from his retired touring vehicle to his dream musical collaboration.

So, what’s been your favorite song that you have written?

It’s a tough one. I can just throw one out there, “Best Feeling.”

What’s your favorite place where you have performed?

Red Rocks.

What’s your favorite instrument?

My favorite instrument is my voice.

What’s your second favorite?

Second favorite instrument would be my fingers.

So what happened to the Blazeabago, and how have things changed since those touring days? And do you still have it?

The Blazeabago got retired in like 1999. And yes I still have it, and it’s home to rodents and insects, things of that nature. It lives in the field just out of sight from my house. And I guess I went through six motor homes with that being the first one in between 1998 and 2005. The past couple of years we have adopted this weekend warrior mentality, so I do a lot of flying, and renting minivans is usually involved once we get there. So, that is how I travel – usually by plane and minivan.

What are you working on now?

Well, I just put out two records last year and have a whole slew of songs which I think I am going to record with me on bass, and it’s going to be more of a reggae-dub-funk-soca kind of vibe with me on bass. That is what I am working on right now. And we have a couple more festivals coming up this summer.

Who is your favorite band?

My favorite band, um, I guess of all time would have to be the Grateful Dead, not only from the music, but also the life lessons I have learned from that whole world of community that is created. My love of music is so vast, so huge and so wide. There’s so much music I listen to. I have Sirius/XM in my car, and if I am going to put something on, there’s so much new stuff. To say who is your favorite band is kind of hard, but to narrow it down would be the Dead as far as musical influence and that whole shebang.

Any new singers or bands you have heard and like?

I am investigating the dubstep. It’s a genre of electronica that I have been studying lately and a guy named Skrillex, who is a young guy with a laptop, has been putting out this stuff that’s interesting, and he sells out venues two weeks in advance. I am trying to study that fascination and figure it out. The Pimps of Joytime is another fantastic band I have been listening to.

What’s your all-time favorite album?

Well, I am going to say, damn, that’s hard. How about the band called the Mother Hips and the record is called “Later Days.”

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

I hope in 10 years I can sell thousand of tickets in advance all around the world. That’s what I hope. Where do I see myself – sometimes I see myself doing the same thing. Other times I see myself in the median at the stoplight between the cars. It varies. Where I hope is selling thousands of tickets in advance, that’s my lifetime and longtime goal.

Who or what has been your favorite collaboration?

They are all very memorable. The one that stands out in the past year is the Rhythm Devils, which were on tour with us this year. That was really amazing. Matisyahu was really cool. I have been very lucky to play with so many awesome people.

And what’s your dream collaboration?

Wow, there are so many. Medeski Martin and Wood, Soulive and Esperanza Spalding. Maybe she will read The Huntsville Times and give you a call.